Vendor slashed in Fifth Ave. turf war

TWO VENDORS went to war Wednesday in Midtown over turf, leaving one in handcuffs and the other on his way to the hospital, police said.

During an argument at E. 44th St. and Fifth Ave. about 10 a.m., a 30-year-old halal food vendor grabbed a cooking knife and stabbed a 35-year-old fruit vendor in the abdomen, police said.

Cops said the fight started when the halal food vendor set up shop in a spot usually used by the fruit vendor. An argument ensued, leading to a fight that ended in the stabbing.

“He used the cooking knife to poke the other vendor,” a police source said.

Medics took the victim to Mount Sinai West hospital for evaluation of superficial wounds.